Pharaonic
Magic
When Egypt met Israel in Round 10 of the Open series the men from
Cairo were in tremendous form, as witness this deal.
Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
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ª A J 7 5 3
© 7 2
¨ A K Q 4
§ J 5 |
ª Q 9 8 6 2
© 8 3
¨ 9 2
§ K 10 9 6 |
![Bridge deal](/Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª K 4
© K Q 10 9 5
¨ 10 8 5 3
§ 7 4 |
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ª 10
© A J 6 4
¨ J 7 6
§ A Q 8 3 2 |
West |
North |
East |
South |
El Ahmady |
Kalish |
Sadek |
Podgur |
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|
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2§ |
Pass |
2¨* |
Pass |
2© |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
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Expecting the jack of hearts to be in the dummy, Tarek Sadek found
the brilliant opening lead of the nine of hearts. Naturally declarer
played low, as West signalled encouragement with the three. The
ten of hearts came next, and when declarer again played low East
was able to continue with the king of hearts, ensuring that the
defenders would come to five tricks.
That was just one of the boards that contributed to Egypt’s
94-13 IMP win.
The positional
factor
by Maureen Dennison
This deal from round 9 of the Women’s series in the Olympiad
looks relatively innocuous, but looks can be deceiving.
Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul.
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ª K J
© 10 7 4
¨ 10 8 5 2
§ Q 4 3 2 |
ª A 10 7 4 3
© K 5
¨ A K 7 4 3
§ A |
![Bridge deal](/Graphics/Hand/board3.gif) |
ª Q 8 5
© 9 8 6 3 2
¨ 6
§ J 7 6 5 |
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ª 9 6 2
© A Q J
¨ Q J 9
§ K 10 9 8 |
At most tables, East/West played 4ª making, though a fair sprinkling
played in 2ª making four. Jill Casey, Welsh Camrose player, played
in 1ª.
What’s remarkable about that, of course, is that Jill was
sitting North!
West opened a strong club, and Jill’s 1ª showed two suits
of the same rank. East’s pass indicated fewer than 5 points.
After South passed, West decided she had nowhere to go and she,
too, passed. The contract drifted four off for minus 200.
Jill’s teammates, by the way, were up to bidding the spade
game, so the team earned a 6-IMP swing.
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